New Tide Nutrition

11/18/2021

This.

Unfortunately, our modern diet is rich in damaging refined carbs—pizza, fries, bread, pasta. These are the types of nutrient-stripped foods that drive high blood sugar, inflammation, and insulin; raise your triglycerides; lower your good cholesterol; and fuel diabetes, cancer, dementia, and heart disease.

So when I tell my patients, don’t fear carbs, I mean slow carbs, especially veggies — for instance, arugula, kale, broccoli, bok choy, artichokes, cucumbers, peppers, and asparagus.

Another way to think about this is to consider the glycemic load of carbs. The glycemic load indicates how a food will impact blood sugar. Processed carbohydrates rank high on the glycemic load scale. Non-starchy veggies (bok choy, kale, spinach) barely register on the glycemic load scale. You want to fill 75 percent of your plate with non-starchy vegetables. In the Pegan Diet, these superfoods make up the bulk of what you eat. They contain a bunch of phytonutrients, rich in fiber, and won’t cause your blood sugar to spike.

While still nutritious, starchy vegetables rank slightly higher on the scale and can become problematic when overconsumed. For my patients who are diabetic, pre-diabetic, or struggling with weight gain, I recommend limiting starchy vegetables to half a cup up to three times a week.

11/08/2021

Ugh. Hard to hear, but we know it true…

Here’s the bad news/good news.⁣⁣

Eating sugar and refined carbs can cause pre-dementia and dementia. But cutting out the sugar and refined carbs and adding lots of fat can prevent, and even reverse, pre-dementia and early dementia. Sugar causes pre-diabetes and diabetes, which often leads to significant memory loss.

Chronic stress takes a toll on your body and brain. Stress shrinks the hippocampus, the memory center of the brain. So, find your pause button every day and make time for some stress relief. Relaxation isn’t a luxury if you want to prevent or reverse dementia. Whether that involves deep breathing, meditation, or yoga, find something that helps you calm down.

Lack of sleep can cause impaired brain function, leading to CRAFT syndrome, which stands for “can’t remember a _____ thing.” Studies show poor sleep becomes a risk factor for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Aim for at least 8 hours of quality sleep every night.

We now know that physical activity can prevent and even slow down the progression of cognitive decline and brain diseases like dementia. Even a 30-minute walk can help. More active readers might want to incorporate high-intensity interval training or weight lifting.

08/15/2021

So very important all year round, but even more so in the hot & humid months here in TX!

Water makes up 60% of our bodies, 75% of our muscles, and 85% of our brains. Here's what happens when your body is lacking water...

07/26/2021

Flavonoids!

Flavonoids have strong antioxidant activity, but during digestion they are metabolized into molecules that do not. Instead of acting as antioxidants themselves, they activate the body’s natural detoxification system, make changes in gene expression that upregulate antioxidant enzymes, inhibit cancer cell growth and proliferation, and reduce inflammation.

07/19/2021

🤔

07/13/2021

Magnesium is important, especially in our high stress world.

In our society, magnesium deficiency is a huge problem. By conservative standards of measurement (blood, or serum, magnesium levels), 65 percent of people admitted to the intensive care unit — and about 15 percent of the general population — have a magnesium deficiency.⁣
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But this seriously underestimates the problem, because a serum magnesium level is the LEAST sensitive way to detect a drop in your total body magnesium level. So rates of magnesium deficiency could be even higher!⁣
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The reason we are so deficient is simple: Many of us eat a diet that contains practically no magnesium — a highly processed, refined diet that is based mostly on white flour, meat, and dairy (all of which have no magnesium).⁣
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When was the last time you had a good dose of sea vegetables (seaweed), nuts, greens, and beans? If you are like most Americans, your nut consumption mostly comes from peanut butter, and mostly in chocolate peanut butter cups.⁣
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Much of modern life conspires to help us lose what little magnesium we do get in our diet. Magnesium levels are decreased by excess alcohol, salt, coffee, phosphoric acid in colas, profuse sweating, prolonged or intense stress, chronic diarrhea, excessive menstruation, diuretics (water pills), antibiotics and other drugs, and some intestinal parasites. In fact, in one study in Kosovo, people under chronic war stress lost large amounts of magnesium in their urine.⁣
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Stop Draining Your Body of Magnesium⁣:
Limit coffee, colas, salt, sugar, and alcohol⁣
Learn how to practice active relaxation⁣
Check with your doctor if your medication is causing magnesium loss (many high blood pressure drugs or diuretics cause loss of magnesium)⁣
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In addition to all of this, make sure you are taking Magnesium supplements. The most absorbable forms are magnesium citrate, glycinate taurate, or aspartate, although magnesium bound to Kreb cycle chelates (malate, succinate, fumarate) are also good.

06/22/2021

Yes!

Studies have shown that refined sugars can suppress your immune system for hours after ingesting. Breaking sugar addiction is easier than you might think. It doesn’t take weeks or months. These strategies can help: ⁣⁣
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- Eat real food. You need to eat fat and protein for each of your meals. Whole foods carbohydrates like veggies, legumes, nuts and seeds are perfectly healthy. Broccoli is broccoli. Processed, sugary junk foods are not real foods. They set the stage for sugar addiction and all its ugly consequences.⁣⁣
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- Steady blood sugar levels. Eat a nutritious breakfast with some protein like eggs, protein shakes, or nut butters. Studies repeatedly show that eating a healthy high-protein breakfast helps people maintain weight loss. Also, have smaller meals throughout the day. Eat every three to four hours and have some protein with each snack or meal (lean animal protein, nuts, seeds, beans). Avoid eating three hours before bedtime.⁣⁣
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- Reduce stress. Stress eating and junk food go together. When you’re feeling stressed, you’re more likely to reach for that bag of chocolate chip cookies or whatever your vice might be. Learn to address the root cause of your stress and address it with something like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing. ⁣⁣
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- Exercise smartly. Besides creating a healthy distraction to avoid nose-diving into a pint of butter pecan ice cream, exercise tapers cravings and raises feel-good endorphin levels. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned athlete, you can find an easy-to-implement exercise plan here.⁣⁣
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- Determine whether food sensitivities could be causing your cravings. We often crave the very foods that we have a hidden allergy to, including gluten, dairy, and sugar.⁣⁣
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- Sleep well. Ever notice you’re hungrier for something sugary after a terrible night’s sleep? Studies show lack of sleep increases cravings.bAim to get 8 hours of quality sleep.⁣⁣
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- Implement crave-cutting supplements. These include vitamin D and omega-3s. Also consider taking natural supplements for cravings control. Glutamine, tyrosine, and 5-HTP are amino acids that help reduce cravings.

05/24/2021

Start paying attention y’all.

The truth is, dementia is a very big problem that’s becoming bigger every day.⠀⁣⁣⁣
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What’s the link between Alzheimer’s and diabetes? ⠀⁣⁣⁣
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Well, new research shows insulin resistance, or what I call diabesity (from eating too many carbs and sugar and not enough fat) is one of the major factors that starts the brain-damage cascade, which robs the memory of over half the people in their 80s, leading to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.⠀⁣⁣⁣
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Here’s the bad news/good news. ⠀⁣⁣⁣
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Eating sugar and refined carbs can cause pre-dementia and dementia. But cutting out the sugar and refined carbs and adding lots of fat can prevent, and even reverse, pre-dementia and early dementia. Sugar causes pre-diabetes and diabetes, which often leads to significant memory loss. ⠀⁣⁣⁣
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Chronic stress takes a toll on your body and brain. Stress shrinks the hippocampus, the memory center of the brain. So, find your pause button every day and make time for some stress relief. Relaxation isn’t a luxury if you want to prevent or reverse dementia. Whether that involves deep breathing, meditation, or yoga, find something that helps you calm down. ⠀⁣⁣⁣
⠀⁣⁣⁣
Lack of sleep can cause impaired brain function, leading to CRAFT syndrome, which stands for “can’t remember a _____ thing.” Studies show poor sleep becomes a risk factor for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Aim for at least 8 hours of quality sleep every night.⠀⁣⁣⁣
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We now know that physical activity can prevent and even slow down the progression of cognitive decline and brain diseases like dementia. Even a 30-minute walk can help. More active readers might want to incorporate high-intensity interval training or weight lifting.

05/23/2021

Processed foods are so easy, but poison. 😕

The cost of our food and personal care items is much more than what we pay at checkout. The true cost is measured by the impact that thousands of chemicals have on our health, the environment and climate, our economy, and many other facets of life. ⁣
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In a recent episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, I was joined by Ken Cook from the Environmental Working Group to explain the expansive costs of our food system that require us to make a serious investment on all levels. We talk about what that looks like federally, personally, and all parts in between. ⁣
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You can listen to the full episode here: https://bit.ly/3t0fLsi

05/16/2021

Everyone who has had a sore throat, rash, hives, or a sprained ankle knows about inflammation. Those are normal appropriate responses of our defense system to infection or trauma. We need inflammation to survive.⁣⁣⁣
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The trouble occurs when that defense system runs out of control, like a rebel army bent on destroying its own country. Most people are familiar with overactive immune responses and too much inflammation in common conditions like allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune disease or asthma. But few people know that hidden inflammation run amok is at the root of all chronic illness: heart disease, obesity, diabetes, dementia, depression, cancer and even autism.⁣⁣⁣
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We may feel healthy, but if this inflammation is raging inside of us, then we have a problem.⁣⁣⁣
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So what is the best way to control inflammation while we’re still upstream? First, identify the triggers and causes of inflammation, and then help the body’s natural immune balance reset by providing the right conditions for it to thrive.⁣⁣⁣
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Everyone is treating the downstream effects of inflammation, instead of addressing the cause: multiple problems that are really linked together by inflammation.⁣⁣⁣
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If you feel like you’re still having issues, work with a Functional Medicine doctor near you. You can find one at ifm.org/find-a-practitioner.⁣

05/09/2021

Much better than government plate!

Many of us are used to thinking about diets as something we do short term without much enjoyment, but I designed the Pegan Diet not to be something we go “on” and “off” of -- The Pegan Diet is rather a way of life. ⁣⁣
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The goal is not to be perfect, but to follow a simple set of principles that can help us stay healthy. It’s about doing your best and letting go of food stress and anxiety.
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I want you to eat real, whole foods. Sometimes that means following a recipe, and other times that means using what you have to make what you can. As you become more familiar with the Pegan Diet, shopping for the right foods and creating your own healthy meals will become second nature. ⁣⁣
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Remember, that true health isn’t just about losing a few pounds or about the absence of chronic disease, it’s about feeling good, showing up, and giving your highest gifts to the world.

04/26/2021

Time-restricted eating means eating within a specific time window—12,10, or 8 hours—and not eating the other 12, 14, or 16 hours of the day.⁣
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That’s why the first meal of the day is called breakfast: We break the fast. If you eat dinner at 6 p.m. and breakfast at 8 a.m., that’s a 14-hour fast. ⁣
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Snacking and late-night eating interfere with your body’s ability to rest, repair, and regenerate. Time-restricted eating doesn’t restrict calories; it limits your feeding window to optimize repair. For example, you might consume all of your meals between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., or 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. ⁣
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Really narrow windows of time, like eating only within an 8-hour window of time, are not always the best choice if you’re already thin, chronically fatigued, or pregnant, or have an eating disorder. But there is a form of fasthing that most of us can do and should do every day—the 12 hour window: 12 hours between your last meal of the day and your first meal of the next day. The 12 hour window allows your body to have a natural period of rest and detoxification. ⁣
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You can learn more in my latest book, The Pegan Diet. PeganDiet.com⁣